News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The Bend Trap Club is seeking a change in forest zoning to allow "firearms training facilities."
That proposal has some Sisters area residents up in arms because the trap club is interested in purchasing 240 acres for such a facility between Tumalo and Sisters. They argue that such a facility threatens their peace and quiet and their property values.
Opponents also argue that the facility is inappropriate for an area that is in deer winter range.
A zoning "text amendment" would be necessary before the club could purchase property off Highway 20 east of Fryrear Road and obtain a conditional use permit to build a trap shooting range.
The Bend Trap Club is currently located on Brosterhous Road, in an area that has been overtaken by residential development in recent years.
The text amendment proposal will go before the Deschutes County Planning Commission on Thursday, February 12. The planning commission has heard the proposal once and recommended approval by the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners. The board, however, handed the issue back to the planning commission for another look.
Bend Trap Club acting president Dano Saarinen emphasized that the February 12 hearing is strictly on the zoning text amendment -- one that would bring Deschutes County into line with other counties in the state.
"We're the only county in the state that doesn't have a zone for shooting facilities," he said.
He said the hearing "has nothing to do with a specific site or a specific project."
Saarinen acknowledged, however, that the trap club is interested in the 240 acres between Tumalo and Sisters. That site is in a good location and is well-configured for use as a trap range.
"It allows for a trap field that faces north, which is a requirement for a trap field (to avoid facing into the sun)," he said.
The club wants to purchase property, not lease it. The club wants property large enough to host state trapshooting competitions and to accommodate other clay target sports. Saarinen said there has been interest expressed in building an indoor pistol range and archery facilities.
"We're looking for a location where the trap club can be for the next 100 years," Saarinen said.
When asked what other properties might be under consideration, Saarinen responded, "I can't tell you that."
Neighbors of the 240-acre property plan to turn out to oppose the text amendment. In a letter to neighbors, Bob Vanneman warned local property owners that "your peace and quiet, as well as your property values, are about to take a shot -- literally."
Vanneman also questioned whether it is "reasonable and appropriate to place a shooting facility in the middle of Tumalo winter Deer Range, or any other wildlife overlay..."
Marianne Walker, a 30-year resident of the area, doesn't understand why a shooting range should be considered feasible when other activities are restricted in the Tumalo Winter Deer Range and wildlife combining zones.
"You can't drive around there in winter in your pickup truck or ATV," she said. "They (the trap club) don't belong there. That's not an acceptable use for that property."
She said she would support a text amendment to allow firearms training facilities in forest zones -- but only if winter range and wildlife combining zones are excluded.
Saarinen said the club has already indicated a willingness to preserve a 60-acre area where migration trails cross the property.
Walker isn't buying.
"It (the winter range) is already dedicated," she said.
"There are better places to go with their gun club," she said. "I could see the trap club's need to move; I support them in that. But I don't support them being in a wildlife combining zone. They need to be way out of town."
Some have suggested the club should look for land in the high desert east of Bend.
Saarinen said that wind and weather make the region east of Bend "inhospitable" for sports involving flying targets.
Saarinen said that shooters, like mountain bikers, hikers and rock climbers, need to have places to pursue their sport. He noted that Bureau of Land Management plans call for closing many areas under the agency's control to shooting.
"So where do we go?" he said.
The Deschutes County Planning Commission will hear the text amendment proposal on Thursday, February 12, 5:30 p.m. at the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners Hearing Room, 1130, N.W. Harriman St. in Bend.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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